More World Cup Goals, More Good Economic News

The World Cup so far has delivered lots of goals and no outright favorite to win -- a bit like financial markets in recent weeks. With an average of 2.9 goals a game, 2014 has given fans the fastest tally since the 3.0 pace achieved in the 1970 tournament in Mexico. The lack of clarity about a potential victor even after most teams have played twice, though, pretty much parallels current investor uncertainty about the state of the global economy and the world's financial asset classes.

It looks as though our guest writer Mervyn King was accurate on all fronts with his England predictions. A continuation of the inverse relationship between Britain's international soccer achievements and the nation's economy will hopefully console its long-suffering fans as their team departs, albeit at the cost of the U.K. becoming the first major economy to raise interest rates. Spanish football fans will have similar financial hopes, twinning the shock exit of the reigning champions with this month's better-than-expected industrial production figures.